India have a perfect record of the wrong kind at Port Elizabeth – three losses, including one to Kenya – and with a fracture having ruled out Rahul Dravid, they face an unenviable task in trying to stay alive in the one-day series at St. George Park on Wednesday. Virender Sehwag, who has not been one half the vice-captain that Dravid was for Sourav Ganguly, needs to start showing that he still belongs at this level, and India must hope that the responsibility of leading the side rouses him from the slumber that has characterised his one-day cricket for most of the past 18 months.With both Yuvraj Singh and Dravid missing, the middle-order batting looks as thin as the team sheet it’s written on, and the current crisis might necessitate Sachin Tendulkar dropping down to No.4 to lend the middle some ballast. In such a situation, Wasim Jaffer, whose one-day debut lasted all of three balls in Durban, will get another opportunity to play himself into limited-overs plans.There will also be a change on the bowling front, with the extra pace and swing option offered by Sreesanth edging out the more skiddy option that Ajit Agarkar provides. Zaheer Khan has come back a reformed individual, and with Munaf Patel likely to sit out the rest of the series with an ankle injury, he and Sreesanth will be asked to make early inroads into a South African batting line-up that has been as vulnerable against the moving ball in recent times. And though the dry pitch won’t be a raging turner, both Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh should play.South Africa have brought Ashwell Prince into the squad, and his inclusion in the middle order will see AB de Villiers move up to open with Graeme Smith. Smith has looked woefully out of sorts with the bat in recent games, but with the team winning, it will be Loots Bosman that sits out. They will also have to pick two of three from Andrew Hall, Charl Langeveldt and a fit-again Andre Nel, with Robin Peterson’s left-arm slowbowling unlikely to be risked against a line-up struggling so much against pace.It was at Port Elizabeth that South Africa embarked on a remarkable unbeaten run in February 2005, after a period where they had lost lost 12 of 13 games , with the lone win coming against Bangladesh. Smith’s 105 led the way that day as South Africa chased down 268, and Sehwag will need to deliver a performance of similarly epic proportions if India are to even get started in this series.TeamsSouth Africa (likely): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Loots Bosman, 3Jacques Kallis, 4 Herschelle Gibbs, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 Mark Boucher (wk),7 Justin Kemp, 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Andre Nel, 10 Charl Langeveldt, 11Makhaya Ntini.India (likely): 1 Virender Sehwag (capt), Wasim Jaffer, 3 MohammadKaif, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Dinesh Karthik, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 7Irfan Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Anil Kumble, 11Sreesanth.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Pakistan rode on a fluent 92 by Mohammad Hafeez and his breezy 87-run opening stand with Kamran Akmal to cruise to an emphatic seven-wicket win at Karachi and seal the series 3-1. On a flat batting track, West Indies only managed 238 despite a battling 101 from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and they were made to pay for the lack of runs on the board, as Pakistan sailed home with 19 deliveries to spare.West Indies were coming off a convincing win themselves at Multan, but they carried none of that momentum into this match as Pakistan – bolstered by the return of Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf – dominated right from the start. Chanderpaul managed his fourth ODI century – and his first against Pakistan – but his knock consumed 142 deliveries, and the West Indian innings had little urgency till Brian Lara came to the crease and stroked a crisp 44, in the process becoming only the fifth batsman to get to 10,000 ODI runs.Pakistan’s bowlers, though, maintained a stranglehold on the scoring rate for most of the innings. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, especially, was outstanding, nailing Chris Gayle right at the start – the fourth time Gayle fell to him in the series – and then returned with a swinging yorker at the end to dismiss Lara. He finished with well-deserved figures of 4 for 43, while Abdur Rehman, the promising left-arm spinner, had another impressive day, conceding just 39 from his ten overs for two wickets, including a peach to draw out and stump Marlon Samuels, West Indies’ hero at Multan.On a pitch which offered little pace, bounce or seam movement, the West Indian attack was woefully inadequate to curb the free-stroking Pakistan batsmen. Akmal’s 59-ball 56 offered the early impetus, as he creamed the short balls to the square boundaries and even struck a high full-toss from Daren Powell over square leg for six. Hafeez was relatively quiet, but he had his moments too – a straight six off a good-length ball from Powell was particularly spectacular.Reeling under the early onslaught, Lara delayed the third Powerplay till after Akmal fell, but that hardly helped matter, as Yasir Hameed joined the fun with a fluent 41. Hafeez, meanwhile, carried on in typically unhurried fashion, nurdling the singles and knocking off the odd boundary. Lara tried both pace and spin, but apart from Corey Collymore, none of them even managed to staunch the run-flow.Hameed fell to his own impetuosity when easy runs were there for the taking, but that only spurred Shoaib Malik to end things fast as he rushed to 34 from 36 balls. Hafeez lofted Gayle for a magnificent six to get into the 90s, but soon after fell to one from Dave Mohammed which kept low and beat his attempted pull. By then, though, the result was a foregone conclusion.

If Pakistan’s effort with the bat was impressive, then their bowling display was even better on a pitch which offered little assistance to bowlers. Almost all bowlers kept a tight control over line and length, bowled on one side of the wicket, and gave few scoring opportunities.The dominance started early, when Naved nailed Gayle with one that straightened after pitching on middle, trapping him plumb in front. Lendl Simmons started to get into his stride before chopping Mohammad Sami back onto his stumps, and when Samuels fell to a peach of a delivery from Rehman – it drifted in, then spun away, completely beating the batsman – West Indies were struggling at 104 for 4 in the 27th.On a pitch where 250 seemed to be the par score, West Indies were clearly behind the eight-ball, but Lara and Chanderpaul went about rectifying that. Lara had only managed 27 in his three previous innings in the series, but here he was at his purposeful best. After a slow start, where the intent was to knock the ball around for singles, Lara soon started using his feet against the spinners. Chanderpaul continued to turn the strike over, and the runs soon started coming at more than five an over. Lara’s footwork was at his best against Mohammad Hafeez, whom he tonked over cover for four, and Rehman. Naved, though, ensured that the innings remained only an entertaining cameo, as he slipped in an inswinger which crashed into the stumps off the pads.With Lara back in the hutch, the onus was on Chanderpaul to keep it going, but instead Pakistan’s bowlers seized on the opportunity to exert pressure. Chanderpaul himself was struggling with a leg injury which forced him to opt for a runner, and could only take the singles when boundaries were needed. With Naved bowling his swinging yorkers with outstanding accuracy, West Indies only managed 38 in the last six overs, and in the end the total they managed posed few problems for Pakistan.

Are you planning to travel to the Caribbean? Tell us what you think about this issueLast week we ran two articles highlighting that under new rules, visitors to the Caribbean from a number of countries participating in the World Cup – in particular India, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand – will need to obtain a new US$100 visa. The authorities maintain this will allow for easier travel between islands and also help to increase security, although critics are unimpressed with a scheme they regard as expensive and unlikely to be implemented in time.On Sunday, Mike Agostini, who had been Trinidad and Tobago’s honorary consul in Australia since 1981 until his resignation earlier this month, spoke of the farce regarding the issue of the visas in Australia, highlighting that the assurances of speedy and efficient processing are just not real and that those hoping to watch games in the Caribbean face some major difficulties. Here is a selection of your feedback. If you want to add to the debate, click here

This visa scheme is a racket invented by conniving politicians to earn fuss-free money. As a Trinidadian and a member of the Caribbean community, I am often ashamed at the shenanigans of the authorities. This one is among the lowest scams and if I were a foreigner visiting to see the World Cup, I would combine with other countries to remove the visa requirement. NickMates and I plan to follow the Australian team through the entire tournament, and have managed to secure tickets and transport without any hassle at all, but this visa, which has been implemented seemingly at the last minute, is proving a nightmare. As an Australian based in the UK I can’t even get an answer whether I can apply here or have to send my passport to the non-existent Sydney office. Shambolic. I just hope it’s not a sign of things to come during the tournament. It certainly isn’t boding well. Dave MiddletonThe CARICOM visa thing is an absolute shambles and a farce. I travel internationally for work and I cannot hand my passport over for three weeks to another authority to get it stamped, which means I am completely at the mercy of the Sydney office being set up and operational. And even then, I cannot confirm on the CARICOM website whether or not they will need to hold my passport for processing or whether they only need to see it once before stamping it after processing. To make matters worse for me, my partner and I are getting married afterwards in the Caribbean so any failings here will not only stuff up our Cricket World Cup plans, but possibly some very expensive wedding and honeymoon plans. Chris RiedigerThe new visa system is so confusing. I really do not know whether we can even make it – especially for us who are in US but hold Indian passports. Looks like we can not visit the usual spots in Caribbean. It is so frustrating we – a group of four – plan to cancel the whole trip and watch it on TV. VenkyI plan on attending two games in Trinidad during the World Cup. The visitor visa charge to visit Trinidad is $8 and why should I play $100 when I do not intend to visit other islands? RamaThis Visa issue in the Caribbean is an absolute joke. Whilst I can understand the need for security, I think it is just a huge revenue raising ploy. Ewan J DixonI do not understand the visa requirement. Generally Caribbean is very lenient on visa requirements due to their tourism industry and now all of a sudden they are charging $100 for a visa. I believe the process of getting the visa is worse. I made hotel arrangements and tickets for two super eight games, I have not applied for visa, specially after hearing of all the problems. Simple solution is pay $50-100 fee and get the visa at the airport. I hope they sort it out soon. Ahmed

Ricky Ponting will take his annual mid-season holiday and miss Australia’s CB Series match against England in Brisbane on Friday. The resting and rotation policy means Brad Hodge will come into the 14-man squad that will be captained by Adam Gilchrist, who will have Michael Hussey as his deputy.Last year Ponting was heavily criticised because his break took in Australia Day, the national holiday, but this time his leave has been brought forward after his side easily won its first two games of the tournament. Australia beat England by eight wickets on Friday and New Zealand by 105 runs on Sunday, with Ponting scoring 82 not out and 10.”We feel that Ricky needs and deserves a break,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. “He has played every match for Australia in all forms of the game since the DLF final in Malaysia in September, and we think this is the right time for him to allow his body to rest ahead of the World Cup. Hodge is a logical replacement.”Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath have benefited from mini-breaks during previous years and players who appear in both Tests and ODIs are the most likely to be given time off ahead of the tour of the Caribbean starting in March. Ben Hilfenhaus, who collected 1 for 26 on debut on Sunday, will act as cover for McGrath and Brett Lee, who has been suffering from a chest infection.McGrath missed the New Zealand match with a minor groin injury and will be reassessed on Wednesday. Alex Kountouris, the Australia physiotherapist, said Lee felt better after a bout of bronchitis and expected to be available on Friday. If Hilfenhaus is not required he will turn out for Tasmania against Queensland in a Pura Cup game starting in Hobart on Friday.Australia squad Adam Gilchrist (capt, wk), Matthew Hayden, Brad Hodge, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Michael Hussey, Cameron White, Brett Lee, Brad Hogg, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn McGrath, Ben Hilfenhaus.

Scorecard
Bengal’s disciplined bowling attack defended a relatively low total of 156 to bowl Tripura out for 133 at Bhubaneshwar. The three-pronged pace attack of Ranadeb Bose, Shib Paul and Laxmi Ratan Shukla left Tripura reeling at 39 for 6, and only Timir Chanda (43) managed any decent score as Bengal affected three run outs. Choosing to bat first, Bengal had been in similar trouble after Chanda (4 for 28) and Manoj Singh (3 for 27) bowled excellent spells, but Kamal Mondal (69) helped them to what would prove a winning total.
Scorecard
Orissa opener Bikas Pati’s 84-ball 80 made most of the difference as his side clinched a four-wicket win over Jharkhand at Cuttack. Set 195 to win, Pati forged small yet crucial partnerships for the first and second wickets, and though he departed with 56 to get, Orissa managed to get home with 32 deliveries remaining. Batting first, Jharkhand slumped to 30 for 3 before Rajiv Kumar (49) and Keshav Kumar (56) chipped in. Preetamjit Das, the left-arm medium-pacer, had the best figures of 32.

Scorecard

Adam Gilchrist and Shane Watson helped Australia to settle a score emphatically against England after their recent whitewash in the CB Series finals. The opening pair put on 140 to take Australia to a five-wicket victory, chasing down 198 with ease in the 41st over. England squandered a decent start from Ian Bell and Michael Vaughan as they lost 9 for 75 and ended up with a modest total.Watson’s claims for the opener’s spot will have been enhanced by his rapid 55 off 68 balls, while Gilchrist showed a return to form after missing the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, making 72 from 82. England’s fielders looked sloppy – and their heads quickly went down – but it was a sharp catch by Kevin Pietersen, low at gully, which finally dismissed Watson.Monty Panesar was his conqueror, but he came on later than the crowd would have liked. They already sensed the game was up, but nevertheless rapturously applauded his entry – he continues to be a favourite wherever he goes. Sajid Mahmood was lucky to pick up Gilchrist shortly after, strangled down the leg-side, but it was another tidy piece of fielding which got him, this time from the keeper Paul Nixon.The damage, however, was already done even when Ricky Ponting chopped on for 7 off Jamie Dalrymple and Australia lost a further two quick wickets. Michael Clarke (24*) and Brad Haddin (6*) then completed the formalities as Australia raced home.”I’m disappointed with our performance,” Vaughan told AFP. “Australia put the squeeze on. We should have got 250-260 but we were well beaten by a good side.” The result ended England’s three-game dominance of the defending world champions.It had all started so well for England, with Vaughan making an encouraging 62, and Bell taking command after Ed Joyce fell for just 5. Vaughan was in particularly good touch, even unleashing his swivel-pull off a furious Glenn McGrath, and driving down the ground with a powerful straight bat. Notably, there were no signs of either his hamstring or his knee causing any discomfort and his running, with Bell, was quick and alert.England’s hundred was brought up in the 19th over, shortly followed by Vaughan raising his bat for a fine 55-ball fifty. “It was nice to spend some time in the middle and to get 20 overs in the field,” Vaughan said. Australia’s shoulders had slumped. However, rather predictably, the introduction of spin not only brought a wicket but stifled their run-rate – dramatically.Ponting, frustrated by the free singles Bell and Vaughan were gifted, brought long-on up a few metres to tempt them into hitting over the top. Bell couldn’t resist. Brad Hogg, bowling around the wicket, tossed one wider and Bell, skipping down the pitch, was beaten in the flight and expertly stumped by Gilchrist. The wicket immediately re-energised Australia.”It was a good result,” Ponting said. “We clawed things back, our slower bowlers took over and we did well in the field.”England’s wheels didn’t quite fall off, but the nuts were loosened. Vaughan cut Hogg to point; Kevin Pietersen scratched around before spooning Shaun Tait to cover; Paul Collingwood attempted one his grafting innings, and failed, before Andrew Flintoff – looking very short of form – hooked Stuart Clark to Mitchell Johnson at fine-leg. From 122 for 1, England had slipped to 168 for 6.Tait’s pace was too much for England’s tail and he earned 4-33 while Clark – the eighth bowler – proved the critics wrong with a miserly 3 for 16. The collapse cost England the match.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out – Ireland
How they were out – Australia

With the ruthlessness that everyone has come to expect from the Australians, they overwhelmed Ireland by nine wickets at Bridgetown after demolishing them for 91. The pace and bounce of Glenn McGrath and Shaun Tait proved too much for the Irish top order, as they removed the top four inside five overs, and only three batsmen reached double figures. The result confirms Australia as the first team in the semi-finals.Australia could have decided to use this match to hone their all-round game: have a bat, rack up 300-plus then bowl when the track was slower. But they are a team with one focus: winning as quickly and effectively as possible. Apart from 15 wides – mainly from Tait – and one tough chance dropped by Ricky Ponting it was seamless performance. Even Michael Hussey, who had 20 runs in four innings before today, managed useful time in the middle, although he never looked in top form. Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds added the brief fireworks as the chase was completed in 12.2 overs.The systematic removal of Ireland’s batsman began with the final ball of the opening over when McGrath collected Jeremy Bray with a full inswinger which clipped off stump. But McGrath was only the start of Ireland’s problems. The pace, never mind unorthodox action, of Tait was something they had never encountered and it showed. After negotiating a maiden over, Tait’s second began in dramatic fashion. The first ball was too quick for William Porterfield, who was trapped plumb in front, and with the next Niall O’Brien could only drag a fast, low full toss into his stumps. Somehow Kevin O’Brien survived the hat-trick and responded with a couple of solid flicks through square-leg.McGrath added his second scalp in regulation style as Eoin Morgan edged to first slip in a manner so many left-handers have fallen to the bowler throughout his career. The record pages were quickly being thumbed to find the lowest World Cup total. That ignominy faded with Tait’s direction. His third over took 11 balls and included the missed catch by Ponting at second slip off O’Brien.

Andrew White took a painful blow on the helmet from McGrath and he was still unsteady when he chipped a slower ball from same bowler towards mid-off. McGrath was pulling out all his tricks as his final World Cup continues as a tour de force. He was rested after seven overs, but wickets continued to tumble, with O’Brien’s determined stay ending with a poor clip to square-leg. Stuart Clark got his first wicket of the tournament and a useful run-out in case he is called upon in the next few weeks.Not surprisingly for a fellow Australian, Trent Johnston refused to go down without a fight. However, Ponting was in no mood to offer his rival captain any favours and returned to Tait, who again served up his liquorish allsorts. Even the ball to shift Johnston, wide and full, was nothing special but his pace brings the added dimension. John Mooney showed his team-mates resistance was possible until Tait’s direct hit from mid-off ended the innings in emphatic style.Without having much of a target to aim for, Hussey was straight up to open in place of Matthew Hayden. Gilchrist was quickly into his stride and the fifty came up in the seventh over. Ireland, though, did have one moment to celebrate as their never-say-die captain swung one to get Gilchrist. Symonds was handed a brief outing in the middle, thumping one ferocious straight six, before Hussey completed the formalities with his first maximum of the World Cup.The match lasted less than the length of one innings and was over on the stroke of the lunch interval. Ireland’s fans never stopped singing, despite their team’s predicament, and they’ll continue to party into the afternoon. They just won’t have any cricket to watch.

PJ Mir, Pakistan’s media manager during the World Cup, has blamed the influence of religion in the dressing room for Pakistan’s disastrous performance in the Caribbean.Speaking to reporters after his appearance at the performance evaluation committee looking into Pakistan’s shambolic display, Mir said, “I could not disclose this fact before, but today I inform the media that most of the members had no focus on cricket. Their fixation was on preaching, affecting the team’s preparations.”Mir complained that the players devoted more time to praying and preaching than to the game itself. “The boys were up against the most challenging task of proving their skills in the prestigious tournament, but I am sorry to say they had no drive for the game and were much more active in preaching and praying.”Mir argued that the religious influence had gone “beyond limits. I told the committee that Pakistani players, rather than pray privately, tried to make it a public spectacle.”Mir added that he told the committee of incidents to highlight his point, highlighting instances where some players, led by former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, even made it a point to pray in the galley of aircrafts on flights rather than privately in their seats. He said that there is video evidence to prove his point and is offering to pass it onto the PCB to assess the situation further.Since the England tour last summer, criticism over what is perceived as the team’s overt religiosity has steadily grown. In one of his first public statements after taking over as chairman of the board, Nasim Ashraf called on the team to dampen down ‘public displays of religiosity’ in a TV interview. The remark led to a sharp retort from Inzamam, since when the issue has simmered away under the public radar, a number of PCB officials privately echoing Ashraf’s stance.In a tense press conference last week, Inzamam dismissed speculation of religion taking priority within the team but Mir’s comments have dragged the issue out into the open once again.The evaluation committee began its work last week and has interviewed a number of players and officials, including Inzamam and Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistan’s assistant coach. They are due to meet former chairmen Tauqir Zia and Shaharyar Khan as well and are expected to hand in their report on Pakistan’s debacle within a month.

Alexander Downer, Australia’s foreign minister, said a visit to Zimbabwe by Australia’s cricketers would be “a propaganda victory” for Robert Mugabe. Downer said he would meet with Cricket Australia this week to discuss the tour, scheduled for September, but he believed the players should take a stand against Mugabe’s regime by boycotting the trip.”We can’t … formally ban them but I’ll be meeting with … Cricket Australia … during the course of this week and we’ll be having a series of discussions about how to manage this,” Downer said on the Perth radio station 6PR. “Normally I’m not a great fan of bringing politics into sport but in this particular case I think it is appropriate we should … take a very [tough] stand against Mugabe’s regime and do our best to stop the cricketers.”The government has already said it will pay any fine imposed by the ICC on CA if it cancels the tour, a stance reiterated by Downer. “But we haven’t reached that point yet and I need to talk through all the details of their contracts with them,” he said.”My view is that the tour shouldn’t go ahead and if it were to go ahead then Australia – which is after all the world championship team – would give Zimbabwe’s regime and its president, who has been the patron of Zimbabwe Cricket Association, a propaganda victory, a propaganda coup.”This is a horrific regime in Zimbabwe and we should take a stand against it, and included amongst those who should take a stand are our cricketers.” Ricky Ponting said last week each Australian player would be asked his opinion on whether the tour should go ahead.

David Moore, the West Indies coach, has asked his players to keep up their hard work for the second Test against England at Headingley after a solid finish to the first Test at Lord’s. Moore wants better consistency from his side but said there were plenty of positives to take into the match starting on Friday.However, he was keen to dispel the theory that the draw at Lord’s could be viewed as a win for West Indies. “It’s not a victory, it is a draw,” Moore said. “We have done some great work which is good for the boys’ confidence but we are aware that every game is a different game and we have to start again.”We have to take the good things out of the first Test and work on the other things. Headingley is a different kettle of fish to Lord’s, we all know that and we’re going to be very focused on our task here.”Moore said it was a credit to his players that in the first innings they took the score from 187 for 5 to 437. “That’s something that we can take heart from,” he said. “All the batters contributed and down below we got 25-run partnerships from number nine and ten. I was very pleased with our batters particularly during that second innings when Chris Gayle and Daren Ganga got through unscathed.”He was also impressed with the bowling in the second innings, when only two England players passed fifty, compared to four making centuries in the first. West Indies had only one three-day warm-up game before the Test series began – and that match was severely rain-affected – and Moore was confident the squad now had more idea of what to expect from English conditions.”We’ve got a little bit [of practice] under the belt but we still need a lot more and the boys are getting used to every ground that we play on,” he said. “Only a few of them have played over here before, particularly the bowlers so every ground that we go to is a new experience for them.”